What Will Become of Us
by HecateA
Summary: When Sirius falls behind the veil he had no idea that it would come with a choice to make: rest or try again. Oneshot. Written for Romance Awareness Day 15: Soulmates reincarnated.


**Author's Note: **Can you enjoy this story on its own? Yes. Is this a prequel/companion short story to _What Will Be Left to See? _Perhaps. Why? Because I enjoy hurting myself. Anyways, enjoy! Written for the 31 Days of Soulmate!AU Day 15: Soulmates reincarnated.

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Warnings: **Death

* * *

**Stacked with: **MC4A; Shipping Wars; Hogwarts; Harmony of Souls Eternal; Rays of Blades

**Individual Challenge(s): **Gryffindor MC (x2); Slytherin MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Seeds; Tissue Warning; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Location, Location, Location; Trope it Up C (Secret Relationship); Themes & Things A (Death); Themes & Things B (Loss); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

**Representation(s): **Soulmate!AU

**Bonus challenge(s): **In the Trench; Second Verse (A Long Dog); Chorus (Middle Name)

**Tertiary bonus challenge: **Schooner; Keen

**Word Count: **1346

* * *

**What Will Become of Us **

_Well wood burns and metal rusts_

_So darling what to become of us?_

_When the weather turns and they say it must_

_Well we'll need coats for the both of us_

_But the wool is thin and it's full of holes_

_And there's no heat in this abandoned bus_

_So will we go alone out on our own?_

_Oh, darling what to become of us?_

—Passenger, What Will Become of Us

* * *

"HARRY!" Sirius cried, banging his hands against the door of the room. Sirius knew that he had gotten there somehow; the trick was that he didn't know how, and the walls were so smooth and even that he couldn't imagine a passage opening anywhere. He backed up and took a running start at the wall, running into it shoulder-first. That, for one, hurt like a bitch. And it didn't help.

Sirius backed off again and looked around, panting. When he looked up, he felt as if there was an opening of some sort hundreds and hundreds of feet up. He didn't know what gave him that impression; he couldn't see _anything _and he didn't have his wand with him either. But he was starting to realise… well, that veil he'd fallen through may have been a one-time trip after all.

Sirius ran his hands against the wall one last time before accepting the conclusion, resting his forehead against the cool surface. He exhaled, and his breath puffed even if he didn't feel the cold.

"Harry," Sirius repeated again. "Harry, I'm so sorry…"

It was something of a comfort that Remus had still been up there—had still been fighting and would continue to fight for Harry, as they all had, really. But then the realization that he'd left Remus behind too settled in. Just over two years ago, Sirius had nothing; now, panic rushed in as he realized how much he'd left behind after all, and that wasn't including…

"Kingsley," Sirius said. This came out a bit more like a moan, but Sirius didn't care. He was alone, after all. But even then, even if he'd been in front of a crowd, Kingsley was… there was no hiding the kind of pain that came with the realization that he would never see him again.

"You'll have more time," someone said behind him.

Sirius spun around.

"Stay the hell away from me!" he said.

"That hurts, mate. After all these years?"

And eventually Sirius calmed down enough to take in the sight of… not Harry, James. James Potter wearing a dark flannel, a Harpies t-shirt, and jeans that were a tad loose.

"My God," Sirius said. "I really am dead."

"That's the bad news," James said. "Otherwise, great to see you."

James was smiling and, despite it all, Sirius couldn't help but smile back. But then something in James cracked and his face dropped, and he closed the gap between them to capture Sirius in a hug. A hug that felt so, so good.

"I'm so sorry," James said. "I'm so sorry for everything that happened to you…"

"It's not your fault," Sirius said, blinking back tears and pressing his forehead against James' shoulder. "It's not your fault… _I'm _so sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong," James said. "It wasn't you. We'll make you believe that one day."

Sirius blinked away the last of his tears and nodded, pulling back. "'We'? Lily's with you then?"

James nodded with a smile. "There's a whole world out there, rooms and places connected to each other… it's not a forever place, mind you, but you can make a home here while you wait."

Sirius nodded. "Harry?"

James nodded. "I want to meet him so badly. I want to know who that little boy grew up to be—and I want to wait a long time to do it."

"It'll be worth it, he's such an amazing kid," Sirius said. "I love him."

James nodded with more insistence, biting his lip. Then he put his hand on Sirius' arm. "I love you."

"I love you too," Sirius said.

"That's why I'm the one giving you your options, I think," James said.

"Options?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," James nodded. "See, usually it's all done by chance, I think. Not sure who else would be keeping track of it all, tabs on all the souls... But you came through a portal, which means you have to make the choice for where to go next."

"Well, where are you?" Sirius asked. "I want to be with you. It's been years..."

"I know," James said. "I know, but listen. You don't have to. It's okay. I know it's been long, I know it's been painful. You can move on if you want, and I know you've got… well, you've got someone."

"Kingsley?" Sirius asked. "He's still alive. At least he better be—"

"He is," James said. "He is. You two nearly did it."

"Nearly did what?" Sirius asked.

"Nearly made it together," James said. Sirius didn't know what to answer to that, but James went on. "It's not an easy thing, to find your soulmate. It takes practise—which is why you can always try again."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked again.

"I'll stop explaining a hundred things at once—let me start over," James said, shaking his head. "Kingsley? Shacklebolt? Other than being outlandishly handsome, he is also your soulmate. You two came together in the weirdest way, in the strangest place, and against all odds because of that."

"I wasn't crazy when I thought it was destiny," Sirius blurted. Then he blushed. He hadn't even admitted that to Kingsley himself, let alone Remus or any other living soul. Which, he supposed James wasn't, so this was actually all quite fitting.

"No, mate," James said. "And listen, soulmate stuff is hard. It's not just _whoops, we're together now! _Ring the wedding bells and so on. So you get these test runs; where you can try to get back to the surface world and find them again, in another life."

James, sympathetic to Sirius' cause and confusion, clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"I know that this is a lot to take in," he apologized. "But you came in from the portal and you get to make a choice. That's not nothing, and I want you to know."

"Right," Sirius said. He chewed his lip. "Everything was so stacked against us, James. I loved him so much, but that didn't change who he was or who I was or what had happened to me and I… I would love to give him more. To give him a better piece of myself, to give him something that looks a little more like a life."

"You could," James nodded. "You really easily could."

"It could be years before Kingsley is reborn, though," Sirius said.

"Yeah," James said. "But you two are in synch now—that's the first step. You'll get spit back out in similar times and places, next. That's worth a lot. So is the fact that you can make the choice to get back out there. But you can also put an end to the cycle, put yourself to rest and call it a day and finally get some peace."

"Yeah," Sirius said. He gulped. "You can move about freely in this… behind the veil?"

James nodded and fiddled with his wedding ring.

"Lily and I found each other in life," James said. "We have quite a bit of agency in the afterworld—behind the veil, like you said—as a result."

Sirius nodded. "Then as long as I stay with you to guide me, can I make the choice after sitting down for a cup of tea?"

James grinned. "Of course. Lily's put the kettle on."

* * *

_Well yeast ferments and milk sours_

_When it's out of the fridge for too many hours_

_Will we'll lament in separate towers_

_Never knowing if we're brave or if we're cowards_

_For they'll pour cement down this hole of ours_

_And we'll be stuck under stones and flowers_

_Will we go alone out on our own?_

_Oh, darling that's what will become of us?_


End file.
